My Answer
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Q: To me, the only thing that’s important is focusing on our lives right now. People who believe in life after death and Heaven are just trying to escape from their present responsibilities. We need to concentrate on today, not day-dreaming about some “pie-in-the-sky” future in an imaginary Heaven.
A: I’m thankful for your frankness (even if I don’t agree with you)—but as I read your letter, I couldn’t help but wonder why you had written me. Could it be because deep in your soul you wonder if you might be wrong?
I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who sincerely believed in what the Bible says about Heaven but was unconcerned about their God-given responsibilities right now. Remember: Jesus not only taught us about Heaven, but He also healed the sick and fed the hungry and encouraged the downhearted—and He calls us to do likewise. The Bible says, “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:14).
Think, for example, of the thousands of schools and hospitals and orphanages that Christians have built all over the world. They believed deeply in Heaven—but they also believed that they had a responsibility to combat evil and poverty and ignorance, and to make this world a better place. They took seriously Jesus’ words in what we commonly call the Lord’s Prayer: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
Don’t spend your life in a fog of doubt and hopelessness. Instead, open your heart and life to Jesus Christ, who by His death and resurrection opened Heaven’s door for us. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25).
Q: I have to retire at the end of this year, and to be honest I’m dreading it. I can’t imagine not working, and not seeing the people I work with every day. I’m afraid I’ll just wither away. Do you have any advice for me?
A: Retirement is one of life’s greatest transitions, and one reason I wanted to reprint your question is to encourage others who are nearing retirement (even if it’s several years away) to think more carefully about it.
Financial planning for retirement isn’t enough; we also need what we might call “life planning”—planning how we’ll spend the years God gives us beyond retirement. For some, retirement may be as much as a third of their lives. How will they avoid being bored, or feeling useless, or ending up with serious health issues (or even death) through worry or depression?
What can you do? Let me briefly suggest three things (you can think of them as three words, beginning with A, B, and C). First, Accept—accept the fact that you are retired. Don’t spend all your time wishing the past would return; it won’t. Accept instead that your life has entered a new stage, and ahead of you are new adventures.
Second, Believe—believe that God loves you, and that He is with you and wants to guide you in the future. Thank Him for this great truth, and trust Him to be with you in the months and years ahead. God isn’t finished with you!
Finally, Commit—commit your life to Jesus Christ, and then ask Him to guide you and use you—volunteering through your church, finding a part-time job, pursuing a new hobby, helping your family. The Bible says, “However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all” (Ecclesiastes 11:8).
